ABSTRACT

Polyadenylated transcripts of influenza virus RNA are incomplete copies of the individual genome segments, lacking sequences complementary to the 5'-terminal nucleotides of the virion RNA. By using a procedure which depends on the polyadenylic acid tail of the mRNA being encoded in part by the genome, we have determined that the common tract of uridine residues, approximately 17 to 22 nucleotides from the 5' end of each segment, is the site of polyadenylation of influenza virus mRNA.